Are You Back?

(Ceruno)

The connection with her clone was forcibly severed, and when she woke up, she found that Aldebaran had already attacked her. I don't know what Betelgeuse was thinking at that moment. She just stood there, stunned, with complicated thoughts flashing in her eyes.

She knew Aldebaran was coming to rescue her, and she knew Aldebaran was going to put on a good show for the "Supreme Council," but she didn't expect him to come so quickly. Right now, she's sitting up from the pod in her Mental Link Device, not restricted in her freedom, as if she's doing something for us...

How will the "Supreme Council" view this situation?

What will she face after being rescued?

The bubble was still entangled by those thorns, and the defensive walls had become a cage restricting me. To make matters worse... these thorny tentacles wrapped the bubble up tightly, and I couldn't see what was happening outside at all, so naturally I couldn't do anything to Aldebaran.

"Ginseng, I've come to take you home, okay?"

The sound of Aldebaran.

As someone with severe social anxiety, Betelgeuse did not respond.

Aldebaran said to himself, "But that's the device you use to control your clones, right? Strange, how can you control your clones while you're in prison? And where are your clones? Let me guess... Ah! Could they have gone to the World Center with the Time Magic Girl?"

She wanted to Betelgeuse as a traitor.

Ultimately, the "rescue of Betelgeuse" operation was nothing more than a political show by Aldebaran. If Betelgeuse was a traitor, then taking her back to the "Supreme Council" for judgment would obviously bring him more prestige...

Aldebaran's plans were meticulously executed, and I now understood why Miluno disliked her.

She's such a bad person.

Since I cannot see beyond the thorns, then Aldebaran cannot see me either.

That's how I found a way out.

Teleport!

Within the already cramped bubble, an even smaller teleportation tunnel opened, and then they crawled out of this dog-hole-like passage in an awkward posture.

Oh, that's terrible.

The exit was outside Betelgeuse's cell. Climbing out, one could see the holes in the wall. Even the steel-plated wall was easily destroyed by those thorny tentacles. How could Betelgeuse's fighting force be that of powerless researchers?

However, she didn't seem to have realized that I had escaped; her thorny tentacles were still tightly wrapped around the bubble.

Peeking through a hole in the wall, Aldebaran was steadily approaching Betelgeuse, who seemed unsure whether to resist or submit, appearing somewhat lost. However, according to Miluno's original plan, Aldebaran could not be let go until she handed over the key technology of the Witch Domain...

Wrong!

Even if she hands over the technology, we cannot let her take Betelgeuse.

But how can I stop her?

Is it possible to reach behind someone and strike them hard on the back of the head with Ruby Wand?

What is Miss Sirius doing at a time like this?!

Those paper tigers in the courtyard can't stop her at all!

"Never mind! Lock her up first!"

I opened a giant bubble that covered the entire prison, and changed the rules inside the bubble. The disappearance of gravity and friction made it impossible for Aldebaran to take Betelgeuse away. The ground was like it was covered in soap; if you stepped on it, you would slip to the side and then float into the air.

I am not inside the bubble.

"Oh? Sai-chan, I've seen that trick of yours before!"

I used this trick on the Oil Monster at the amusement park in Skyreach City before, and Aldebaran was there at the time...

Although she floated into the air due to the zero-gravity environment, she remained calm and unhurried. The tips of her tentacles, which had retracted behind her, transformed into some kind of propulsion device, allowing her to easily pass through another teleportation channel and reappear behind me.

This technique seems to be quite popular among witches.

"If you want to deal with me, you'd better come up with some new tricks!"

A witch, shorter than me, stood with her hands on her hips lecturing me, while at the same time, some shimmering gas spewed out from behind her.

Poison gas?

No, it's something Miluno mentioned before...

Although I wanted the Bubble Membrane to shield the gas, I came into contact with it before I could do so, and the flowing magic gradually stagnated, even making my body feel heavy.

Magic has been disabled.

Aldebaran, with a smug smile, leaned closer and said:

"So, Sai-chan is the Guardian of Prophecy, the person the 'Supreme Council' wants! Hey, do you want to see your father? A-Ji might really want to see you! I can guarantee your life will be safe, even the Supreme Council won't touch you... How about it? Come with me to the Other Side!"

Spiky tentacles blocked my way. Even though I couldn't even mobilize my magic, these thorny tentacles were completely unaffected by the gas.

The witch is a hybrid car.

When the power goes out, it burns gasoline; when the gasoline runs out, it consumes electricity.

Unlike magical girls, they lose all power when the battery is dead...

"Huff~ Huff~"

But Aldebaran hugged me from the front, even letting out a satisfied hum through his nose.

"So soft! I've always wanted to try it. Sai-chan's texture is truly exceptional!"

"... What did you suddenly do?"

"I want to take Sai-chan home, I want to be able to hold you while I sleep every day--!!"

Before I could finish speaking, something grazed Aldebaran's blond hair and slammed into the wall behind me.

I quietly turned my head and glanced out of the corner of my eye; what was deeply embedded in the wall was...

The head of Betelgeuse.

To be precise, it's the mechanical head of Betelgeuse's clone.

The walls are cracked.

Although no one was seen, the fact that Betelgeuse's clone has returned means...

"... Um?"

A few strands of golden hair, broken off by the blow, drifted down. Sensing the fierce killing intent contained in the attack, Aldebaran's frivolous smile froze.

"Wh-what thing?"

Panic! She can be scared too?

"Looks like I've got reinforcements!! Uh, Bi-chan?"

Adhering to the principle of not letting her escape, even though I couldn't use magic, I still used my hands to firmly hold her in front of me...

But I never imagined that this action would bring about a "disaster" that I was still hesitating about. Without warning, darkness enveloped the corridor, and even the windows were covered in black. The entire second floor of the prison became a dark space, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face and could only see a meter away.

The next instant, Aldebaran was pulled off me and dragged into that terrifying shadow...

"Yada~"

The pleas for mercy sounded a bit odd.

"Miluno?"

I tried to verify my conjecture, but there was no response from the black mist. Perhaps she still didn't want to break the deal with Aldebaran?

About half a minute Past.

"Yo, Sai-chan!"

Aldebaran peeked out from the black mist, grinning and greeting me, though his lower body remained shrouded in the mist... Wait, he doesn't seem to be wearing anything?

"Well, this black mist seems to be able to completely interfere with the 'Supreme Council's' surveillance, so I'll just say so!"

I frowned, Aldebaran declared even more arrogantly:

"I know what you're plotting! But I won't hand over the technology to you until I bring Betelgeuse back... Oh dear!"

She was pulled back into the black mist.